'Aaron Ramirez is the man': Coachella Valley tops Palo Verde Valley behind back's big night
From the start of Coachella Valley High School’s football game at Palo Verde Valley High, it appeared that a big part of the Yellow Jackets' plan was to keep the ball out of Aaron Ramirez’s hands.
On kickoffs, Palo Verde Valley routinely kicked away from the Arabs' star running back and milked the clock on offense to reduce the number of times Ramirez could touch the ball.
The one time the Yellow Jackets did kick to Ramirez, he returned it 90 yards for a touchdown. His first carry? A 54-yard touchdown run. His third carry? A 34-yard touchdown run.
Halfway through the Arabs' 41-21 win over Palo Verde Valley, the public address announcer couldn’t help himself.
“Aaron Ramirez is the man!” the announcer proclaimed to the home crowd in Blythe.
The final score was a bit of a statement, as Palo Verde Valley beat Coachella Valley last season by the same score during a 13-game win streak that ended with a CIF San Diego Section championship. The Arabs hope to follow the same path this season, and it all started Friday.
“Aaron came out with a determination to play a good game,” Arabs head coach Bill Johnson said. “But Aaron is all about his teammates, and that’s why they rally around him, and they followed the tone he set tonight and a lot of guys played well.”
Arabs quarterback Derek Calderon scored on a 2-yard run, receiver Mikey Rodriguez had a 30-yard touchdown reception called back on a penalty and the Coachella Valley defense did not allow a point in the second half.
After Coachella Valley’s season opener was canceled after four drives due to lightning last week, Friday’s win was a major boost of good vibes for a team with big goals this season.
Coachella Valley senior middle linebacker Isaiah Martinez said that a weight was lifted by Friday’s win. The first game is over, it was a win and the pent up nerves that every team faces before starting a season were gone.
“It feels awesome to come into Palo Verde’s house and get this win," Martinez said. "We wanted to do this.”
Ramirez's night was significant because of how last season ended. Though he ran for 1,873 yards in nine games, he missed two full games and part of a third with a sprained ankle and wasn't back to mid-season form when he did come back for the Arabs' lone postseason game.
Friday, he and his teammates channeled their frustration over how last season ended and how last week's season opener was called off before it really got started.
“As soon as the game was canceled, we turned our attention to Palo Verde,” Ramirez said. “We were focused and determined to play a good game and get our season started off right.”
The stars
Ramirez finished with 273 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 17 carries. He also caught an interception and a 14-yard pass.
In his first career start, not including last week’s two drives against Xavier Prep, Calderon was 6-for-10 for 92 yards.
For Palo Verde Valley, senior running back Januel Fernandez carried the ball 36 times for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Erico Ramirez scored the other touchdown for the Yellow Jackets.
By the numbers
Coachella Valley recorded 387 yards on just 30 offensive plays. The 12.9 yards per play was significant in the win.
Perhaps just as significant was the defense clamping down in the second half, with the Arabs entering the second half trailing 21-20.
The Arabs allowed 294 yards on 62 offensive plays from Palo Verde Valley.
Next up
Coachella Valley will play San Jacinto Valley Academy (0-1) in the Arabs' home opener on Friday before starting league play Sept. 14 against Desert Mirage in the annual Date Bowl game.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Aaron Ramirez runs wild in Coachella Valley's 41-21 win over Palo Verde Valley
